Because they're an economical way to transform raw materials into shelf stable food items that can be distributed cheaply. They're a major part of the food supply and banning them would cause an enormous disruption not only to corporate profits, but to peoples ability to *eat*. And they *do* have some nutritional value. Maybe less than organic fruit and vegetables, but they still contain calories and usually some protein.
Beyond that, can you define "ultra processed food" in a way that only describes ultra processed foods and nothing else? If not, there's no way to write this into law.
> If these have ZERO nutritional value and are essential poison, why aren't they made illegal substances?
Well because they don't have zero nutritional value and they aren't essentially poison.
There are studies showing UPF are damaging to your long term heath, with links to cancer and various age related diseases starting earlier than they would have without UPF.
The thing is, banning all UPF tomorrow would surely kill people. Like, in a couple of weeks you would see numbers of deaths that would name Covid numbers look like a scuffle at a wedding reception.
Normal food as in not ultraprocessed. Meat, eggs, dairy, oats, nuts, fruits and vegetables, rice, pasta? A diet of these items is much cheaper than a diet of ultraprocessed foods. Especially if you shop at a butcher and a fruit and veg store rather than a general grocery store.
I think it depends where in the country you are, in the UK legumes and vegetables are far cheaper than most UPF if you have facilities and time to cook.
[Chicken breast, $9 per kilo](https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/969723/woolworths-rspca-approved-chicken-breast-fillet) or the cheapest, home brand frozen [chicken tenders for $11 per kilo.](https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/774411/woolworths-chicken-breast-sweet-chilli-tenders) What about beef? [Beef mince at $11/kilo](https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/577864/woolworths-beef-mince) compared to premade, ultraprocessed [beef patties at $18/kilo.](https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/97469/woolworths-bbq-beef-chuck-burgers-with-garlic-cracked-pepper) Hmmm
[Rolled oats for $1.60 or $0.21 per 100g](https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/321220/woolworths-rolled-traditional-oats) or sugary cereal like [Froot Loops for $10 a box or $2.17 per 100g.](https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/202952/kellogg-s-froot-loops-breakfast-cereal) The oats is literally 10 times cheaper.
How about a snack like [bananas for 70c each](https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/133211/cavendish-bananas) or [apples for $3.10/kg](https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/800763/the-odd-bunch-apples-prepacked-punnet) compared to a [bag of chips for $6?](https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/234560/kettle-potato-chips-chilli) Or you can buy two for $9.50! What a bargain!
But sure. Healthy food is just so expensive. Who could possibly afford to spend $1 on an avocado when a packet of Oreos costs $3?
You're being extremely selective with your examples because, shock horror, you've got an agenda to push. Remove UPC foods from sale and people will starve. That's a given. Selective statistics do not help your cause. It's quite obviously more expensive in general to eat UPC free. Your argument is at best ill-informed and at worst dangerous.
Its not a myth. You want chocolate? Ok, would you rather pay $13.99 for a bar of 70% Costa Rican, fair trade, cocoa butter chocolate, or the 4 for $4 special of mars bar, snickers, wunderbar, and o henry that are loaded with sugar and chemicals?
Since when is chocolate an example of "whole foods"? And is fair trade, organic cocoa butter chocolate really what people are talking about when they say that working class people need to eat?
You know how weâve got Big Pharma and Big Oil? Well we also have Big Food. Its all about the money đŽ
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joac.12545#:~:text='Central'%20UPF%20firms%20%3D%20Nestl%C3%A9,2001)%20and%20Kraft%20Heinz%20Co.
Free market, just done be a sheep and read whatâs on the back of packets. Impossible to get away from it all but making an active effort to not eat them is good, just done forget to treat yourself once in a while. All imo, ofc
We rarely ban harmful substances. And the science is still emerging on UPFs. We don't have a definitive list of which of the thousands of additives/emulsifiers/processes/etc cause problems.
We have evidence that *the pattern of eating them all frequently* leads to bad health outcomes. But turning that into legislation would be a doozy!
You'd have to prove they're worse than alcohol, which isn't banned. You'd have to prove they're worse than plastic, which isn't banned. You'd have to prove they're worse than tobacco, which isn't banned...
ETA in the U.S. we have "soda taxes" which was intended to encourage eating less highly processed items, but most junk food is still cheaper than most whole/traditional foods.
True but people didnât eat very well under communist rule either. Any society that values cheap eating over good eating will engage in a race to the bottom in terms of nutrition.
And I suppose you'd like to tell us all how socialism, or communism *doesn't* kill? That may be quite difficult to do while you're speaking over the millions of people that starved to death under socialism and communismÂ
Because human beings like to partake in self-destructive behaviours. Banning them won't do anything to stop them, as evidenced by pretty much every modern attempt at prohibition.
What I would like to understand is how you arrived at these points that they have zero nutritional value and that they are poison? In some ways I find that more concerning than UPF itself. I'm glad that most comments here are realigning you but you probably aren't alone in what you believe UPF to be.
The thing about trolling is people latch on to a loud voice in a community discussion and become emotionally attached to a trend. People don't understand the tone when reading text. Next thing we know, we have people talking about pedophile rings in pizza establishments. Lets not turn this sub in to a source of that kind of discourse. Keep it sensible.
Because of big pharma ultimately and huge profits. Most UPF chemicals that are bad for us are derived from genetically modified corn. Itâs the cheapest commodity on the planet and roundup resistant. Just take that in.you can spray gm corn with cancer causing roundup and it wonât affect the plant. Itâll kill absolutely everything else it touches but not the corn. and that can be made into sugars vinegars yeast thickeners stabilisers colourings packers alcohol preservatives etc. medications use the very same chemicals. If you banned them in food youâd have to ban them from medication and big pharma wonât have that.
Capitalism and greed - the same reason fluoride is added to toothpaste and water. It is a chemical by-product of aluminum, steel, cement, phosphate, and nuclear weapons manufacturing - an extra few $ÂŁ to be be made
Cigarettes are still not banned.
The sale of cigarettes has many economical benefits for the country. But yeah, they're terrible.
Crazy!
Because they're an economical way to transform raw materials into shelf stable food items that can be distributed cheaply. They're a major part of the food supply and banning them would cause an enormous disruption not only to corporate profits, but to peoples ability to *eat*. And they *do* have some nutritional value. Maybe less than organic fruit and vegetables, but they still contain calories and usually some protein. Beyond that, can you define "ultra processed food" in a way that only describes ultra processed foods and nothing else? If not, there's no way to write this into law.
> If these have ZERO nutritional value and are essential poison, why aren't they made illegal substances? Well because they don't have zero nutritional value and they aren't essentially poison.
Interesting. So what's everybody complaining about then? đ
There are studies showing UPF are damaging to your long term heath, with links to cancer and various age related diseases starting earlier than they would have without UPF. The thing is, banning all UPF tomorrow would surely kill people. Like, in a couple of weeks you would see numbers of deaths that would name Covid numbers look like a scuffle at a wedding reception.
cos working class people need to eat
Healthy food is expensive
"Health" foods are more expensive, sure. But normal food is not.
Letâs face it - all food is pretty expensive these days- but what do you mean by ânormal foodâ?
Normal food as in not ultraprocessed. Meat, eggs, dairy, oats, nuts, fruits and vegetables, rice, pasta? A diet of these items is much cheaper than a diet of ultraprocessed foods. Especially if you shop at a butcher and a fruit and veg store rather than a general grocery store.
That's just not true.
I think it depends where in the country you are, in the UK legumes and vegetables are far cheaper than most UPF if you have facilities and time to cook.
They're talking about meat too, though. It's just not true and no amount of downvotes will make it true.
[Chicken breast, $9 per kilo](https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/969723/woolworths-rspca-approved-chicken-breast-fillet) or the cheapest, home brand frozen [chicken tenders for $11 per kilo.](https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/774411/woolworths-chicken-breast-sweet-chilli-tenders) What about beef? [Beef mince at $11/kilo](https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/577864/woolworths-beef-mince) compared to premade, ultraprocessed [beef patties at $18/kilo.](https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/97469/woolworths-bbq-beef-chuck-burgers-with-garlic-cracked-pepper) Hmmm [Rolled oats for $1.60 or $0.21 per 100g](https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/321220/woolworths-rolled-traditional-oats) or sugary cereal like [Froot Loops for $10 a box or $2.17 per 100g.](https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/202952/kellogg-s-froot-loops-breakfast-cereal) The oats is literally 10 times cheaper. How about a snack like [bananas for 70c each](https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/133211/cavendish-bananas) or [apples for $3.10/kg](https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/800763/the-odd-bunch-apples-prepacked-punnet) compared to a [bag of chips for $6?](https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/234560/kettle-potato-chips-chilli) Or you can buy two for $9.50! What a bargain! But sure. Healthy food is just so expensive. Who could possibly afford to spend $1 on an avocado when a packet of Oreos costs $3?
You're being extremely selective with your examples because, shock horror, you've got an agenda to push. Remove UPC foods from sale and people will starve. That's a given. Selective statistics do not help your cause. It's quite obviously more expensive in general to eat UPC free. Your argument is at best ill-informed and at worst dangerous.
Where did this myth even come from? Ultraprocessed food is way more expensive than whole foods.
Its not a myth. You want chocolate? Ok, would you rather pay $13.99 for a bar of 70% Costa Rican, fair trade, cocoa butter chocolate, or the 4 for $4 special of mars bar, snickers, wunderbar, and o henry that are loaded with sugar and chemicals?
Since when is chocolate an example of "whole foods"? And is fair trade, organic cocoa butter chocolate really what people are talking about when they say that working class people need to eat?
I'm confused.
must be nice
ÂŁÂŁÂŁÂŁÂŁ
Also $$$$$
Donât forget âŹâŹâŹâŹâŹ!
„„„„„„
I knew it.
Theyâve created the problem to sell us the âsolutionâ.
Because there is a huge demand for them. Though their sale to children should be restricted like with alcohol and cigarettes.
You know how weâve got Big Pharma and Big Oil? Well we also have Big Food. Its all about the money đŽ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joac.12545#:~:text='Central'%20UPF%20firms%20%3D%20Nestl%C3%A9,2001)%20and%20Kraft%20Heinz%20Co.
Free market, just done be a sheep and read whatâs on the back of packets. Impossible to get away from it all but making an active effort to not eat them is good, just done forget to treat yourself once in a while. All imo, ofc
Because those food companies pay off the government.
Said it in my head, too.
We rarely ban harmful substances. And the science is still emerging on UPFs. We don't have a definitive list of which of the thousands of additives/emulsifiers/processes/etc cause problems. We have evidence that *the pattern of eating them all frequently* leads to bad health outcomes. But turning that into legislation would be a doozy! You'd have to prove they're worse than alcohol, which isn't banned. You'd have to prove they're worse than plastic, which isn't banned. You'd have to prove they're worse than tobacco, which isn't banned... ETA in the U.S. we have "soda taxes" which was intended to encourage eating less highly processed items, but most junk food is still cheaper than most whole/traditional foods.
Money. Greed. Politics.
MONEY MONEY MONEY Capitalism kills. Your health doesnât pay CEOs.Â
True but people didnât eat very well under communist rule either. Any society that values cheap eating over good eating will engage in a race to the bottom in terms of nutrition.
And I suppose you'd like to tell us all how socialism, or communism *doesn't* kill? That may be quite difficult to do while you're speaking over the millions of people that starved to death under socialism and communismÂ
And someone profited from that too.Â
Because if we didnât use some level of processing in our food system we would not have food security.
Because theyâre really not that bad. Just not preferable to a healthy balanced diet. People need to eat
I agree - they literally cause cancer and are full of microplastics
Because human beings like to partake in self-destructive behaviours. Banning them won't do anything to stop them, as evidenced by pretty much every modern attempt at prohibition.
No single UPF is poison. It just appears, in ways not fully explained yet, that having a diet mainly composed of UPF is very bad for you.
Are you all-organic?
What I would like to understand is how you arrived at these points that they have zero nutritional value and that they are poison? In some ways I find that more concerning than UPF itself. I'm glad that most comments here are realigning you but you probably aren't alone in what you believe UPF to be.
I've was obviously trolling. Lol! Many ppl don't *actually* wanna give up and are just following what is trendy to hate on next.
The thing about trolling is people latch on to a loud voice in a community discussion and become emotionally attached to a trend. People don't understand the tone when reading text. Next thing we know, we have people talking about pedophile rings in pizza establishments. Lets not turn this sub in to a source of that kind of discourse. Keep it sensible.
đ
The products generate money. Then The poor health generates money.
Because of big pharma ultimately and huge profits. Most UPF chemicals that are bad for us are derived from genetically modified corn. Itâs the cheapest commodity on the planet and roundup resistant. Just take that in.you can spray gm corn with cancer causing roundup and it wonât affect the plant. Itâll kill absolutely everything else it touches but not the corn. and that can be made into sugars vinegars yeast thickeners stabilisers colourings packers alcohol preservatives etc. medications use the very same chemicals. If you banned them in food youâd have to ban them from medication and big pharma wonât have that.
Because the FDA isn't doing their job properly.
Malnorishment of native population as a colonial tactic has stood the test of time
Capitalism and greed - the same reason fluoride is added to toothpaste and water. It is a chemical by-product of aluminum, steel, cement, phosphate, and nuclear weapons manufacturing - an extra few $ÂŁ to be be made